


Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts

by WardenCommanderCousland



Series: The Light in the Shadow [3]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-12-20 13:05:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11921511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WardenCommanderCousland/pseuds/WardenCommanderCousland
Summary: Cullen was not planning on having a good time at Empress Celene's masquerade. A few snapshots of the Commander's night in Halamshiral





	Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> As with most of my Cullen/Inquisitor pieces, this includes my Dalish rogue Inquisitor, Adair Lavellan. A few references I make to attire and hair are thanks to some fantastic mods I've installed for my copy of the the game.

“Welcome back, Sister Nightingale,” the porter said as he bowed deeply. The Inquisition had just arrived at the small Halamshiral villa Leliana had inherited from the Orlesian who raised her.

Elves appeared as though by magic and began escorting the Inquisitor’s retinue to several guest rooms. Cullen glanced out the villa’s open doors to the field where the small militia they’d brought with them had set up camp. He had no desire to attend the Empress’s ball, but Josephine insisted that all of the Inquisition leadership must attend, and wouldn’t it be easier to smuggle in soldiers if he was already inside?

Adair Lavellan brushed her hand against his as she passed, a small gesture, for they still weren’t public with their relationship, despite the dozens of stolen kisses in his office, on the ramparts, in the armory…

The porter took the Inquisitor’s arm. “Mistress Lavellan, Madame de Fer sent instructions to prepare you for tonight, if you’ll come with me.”

The elf nodded her head and walked away with him.

Vivienne appeared next to Cullen. “Don’t worry Commander. They’re not going to hurt her.”

“I—I wasn’t—“

The mage smiled and joined Josephine and Leliana in following the Inquisitor up a staircase. The last several weeks had been endless lessons in The Game, and Josephine had expressed concern throughout the trip from Skyhold that Adair wasn’t ready. Cullen had little regard for the details of Orlesian socializing, but he observed without comment. He fully intended to spend as little time as possible in the ballroom, a sentiment he apparently shared with Cassandra.

He followed an elf to the room that had been prepared for him. He stepped out onto the balcony, taking a few moments for himself while his bath was prepared. In the room directly across, he could see Josephine pacing back and forth and Vivienne lounging on a chaise. They both turned to look at something Cullen could not see and suddenly Leliana appeared on the balcony. She arched an eyebrow, nodded at Cullen and pulled the curtains across the windows.

~~

The anticipation was gnawing at Cullen. Josephine had kept the Inquisitor out of sight, as they were arriving separately with the Grand Duke. Cullen had busied himself by issuing final orders to the infiltration party, but his growing concern for the Inquisitor was a distraction.

“This is all nonsense,” Cassandra muttered, fussing with the sash on her dress uniform. “We should be looking for the assassin.”

Cullen nodded his agreement, casting his eyes over the room again. They’d stationed themselves at the top of the staircase in the vestibule. Over the last hour, he and the Seeker had been trading commentary on the room and their general disregard for the party as a whole. Cassandra had additionally provided scathing commentary on the handful of Nevarran guests in the room.

The Inquisition’s representatives had dispersed throughout the ball, partially at Leliana’s instructions. Cullen was of the opinion that most of the party would behave themselves, though he had concerns about Sera and her “friends” and Cole’s continuing habit of literally popping up unannounced.

Guests were starting to move towards the ballroom and Cullen spied the Grand Duke adjusting his doublet next to the door.

“Was that really the Inquisitor?” an Orlesian woman asked her escort.

“An elf savage? Maker, no!”

Cullen stood a little taller, trying to look over the heads of the frilled nobility as they passed. Suddenly, he saw her.

The Inquisitor's long black hair was loose, cascading across her pale shoulders and she was wearing a midnight blue silk gown, with black lace for the collar and sleeves. It was narrowly cut against her lithe body, standing out from the voluminous skirts favored by the Orlesians. As she passed Cullen and Cassandra, he caught a faint hint of perfume. Maker, she smelled like Andraste’s Grace.

They filed into the ballroom and Cullen tried to maintain a straight face throughout the insufferably long introductions. He did chuckle softly when Cassandra snapped at the steward and when Solas was introduced as the Inquisitor’s manservant, though he wasn’t as amused by Sera’s immaturity.

As soon as the Inquisition had been formally introduced and Josephine granted permission to disperse, Cullen was set upon by several Orlesians. Leliana had cornered the Inquisitor. Sighing, Cullen turned to his audience and tried to fend off their questions.

The scent of Ferelden flowers caught his attention. “You have quite the audience.”

Cullen had been so distracted trying to discourage further questions and scanning the room for signs of the Venatori assassin that he didn’t notice Adair’s approach. He was slightly taken aback to see her at his side. “Who are all these people?” she asked softly. Her arm brushed his. The room was crowded enough that someone could have bumped into her. Her face was impassive.

“I don’t know, but they won’t leave me alone.”

Adair smiled. “Not enjoying the attention?”

“Yours is—“ Cullen cut himself off when he noticed several masked faces turn towards them. He dropped his voice. “Yours is the only attention worth having.”

The Inquisitor’s eyes brightened but she shook off the comment quickly. Cullen wondered if the Orlesian lessons had worked better than Josephine was letting on. “Would you care to dance, Commander?”

“No.”

“Oh.” Adair looked at the ground. Cullen cursed inwardly.

“Sorry. I’ve been asked that question so many times I’m answering it automatically. Templars don’t get invited to balls often.” She waved his defense off and melted back into the crowd. Cullen continued to mentally chide himself for turning her down. Surely it wouldn’t have been scandalous for him to dance with the Inquisitor?

“If you dance with only her, especially after turning down so many other invitations, it will only give strength to the rumors that you’re involved.” Leliana said, leaning on the wall behind him. Cullen glanced at her. “Surely the gossip in the barracks hasn’t escaped your attention.” She offered him a glass of wine.

Cullen drank it in one. “I’d prefer my private affairs stay private.”

Leliana flashed her trademark coy smile. “But then the troops would have nothing to talk about. Stories of stolen kisses between the Inquisitor and the Commander is good for morale.”

“So you’re saying I should encourage it?”

“No,” Leliana said, thumbing through a book left on the table beside her. “But do consider your actions with respect to The Game. We will get more respect if you dance with some Compte’s daughter than if you only speak to Lavellan all night.”

Cullen sighed and Leliana walked away silently.

It was nearly an hour before he spotted Adair again, at the entrance to the ballroom. Her hair had been pulled back, and there was some dust on her hem. Before she had a chance to take more than a step into the room, Vivienne was upon her and the dust was gone and Adair’s hair had returned to the silken sheet it had been all evening.

“Are you single, Commander?” a forward young woman asked, jolting Cullen’s attention.

He stammered, “No, I’m seeing someone.”

The group around him devolved into a whispered huddle as they tried to identify who his paramour might be, whether they were at Halamshiral, or if it was some long-lost woman in Kirkwall. He heard one courtier suggest that it was the Inquisitor, but he was immediately shot down by the others who insisted that he couldn’t possibly be with “that rabbit,” no matter how charming she was.

A couple walked past him. “Did you hear? There was fighting in the servant wing.”

“Typical elves.”

Typical Orlesians, Cullen thought darkly. He caught Adair’s eye and she began to make her way through the room towards him. However, the Grand Duchess intercepted her. Before Cullen could process what was happening, the Inquisitor and the Grand Duchess were out on the ballroom floor, dancing.

She was graceful and it soon became apparent that all the eyes in Halamshiral were upon the pair. Even the detractors who were just calling her a rabbit remarked on how beautiful the Inquisitor looked and were speculating over her dress.

The dance ended and Adair managed for make her way to Cullen. Josephine and Leliana joined them. They argued, quietly, over their course of action. Adair revealed that the Grand Duchess was pointing the finger at her brother, and Leliana brazenly suggested that maybe they should let the assassination happen. Josephine almost forget herself in her shock. As the Inquisitor melted back into the crowd, Cullen signaled one of his captains, disguised as a porter, to start bringing in troops.

“I don’t like this,” Leliana muttered. “Florianne’s warning screams of a trap, and yet we just sent the Inquisitor in there.”

Cullen nodded his head in agreement. Maker, let her make it out of there, he thought. If not for me, then for all of Thedas. We need her.

~~

The Inquisitor was the talk of the hour. Orlesians left and right were praising her skillful takedown of Florianne, publicly disgracing her and ending an attempted coup without spilling a drop of blood. Human blood, at least. No one seemed concerned for the dozens of vanished servants. And Cullen couldn’t find her. She’d slipped away after Empress Celene and Grand Duke Gaspard’s public truce.

He finally spied her on a balcony off the ballroom. He’d missed her the first time he passed but spotted her as Lady Morrigan left the balcony. He bowed slightly at the courtier as she walked by. “There you are,” he said, relieved. He remembered Leliana’s advice and ignored it as he put his hand on her shoulder. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“I just needed some air,” she said, leaning over the balcony. Cullen caught a flash of cleavage as the dress moved with her.

He leaned to match her level. Her dark green eyes looked exhausted. “I know it’s foolish, but I was worried about you tonight.”

She turned to look at him. “We stopped the Grand Duchess, but Corypheus is still out there.”

Music from the ballroom echoed out onto the balcony. Remembering how Adair had looked dancing with the Grand Duchess, he stood again. “We may never get another opportunity,” he said, offering his arm out to her. “May I have this dance, Inquisitor Lavellan?”

Adair took his hand gracefully. “I thought you didn’t dance, Commander.”

“For you, I’ll try,” Cullen said as he drew her in. His arm wrapped gently around her slender waist and he felt her free hand curl towards his neck.

He wasn’t the best dancer, but he knew the steps thanks to Mia’s insistence that he practice with her growing up. And it didn’t matter, because for the first time all night, he was enjoying himself. They went back inside as the song ended, where Dorian proceeded to scold Cullen for hogging Adair’s time and he whisked her away to the dance floor.

Cassandra laughed as she caught Cullen’s scowl. “I wouldn’t worry too much Cullen. She’s not his type.”

“I beg your pardon?”

Cassandra gestured to Adair and Dorian as they spun past on the dance floor. “Dorian prefers the company of men. His affection for the Inquisitor is strictly platonic.”

While he hadn’t been worrying, precisely, a wave of relief crossed his mind. Another one down, Cullen thought. He’d been similarly relieved when she’d spurned the advances of both Solas and Blackwall. At this point, it seemed unlikely that she had eyes for anyone other than him, but it was still heartening to have that confirmed.

When the carriages came to return them to Leliana’s villa, Cullen took the chance to ride with her. She folded into his arms, the picture of exhaustion. She closed her eyes as Cullen fingered the lace around her collarbone.

“You look amazing,” he whispered, unsure if she was still awake.

“Tell Vivienne,” she said back. “She had her personal tailor make the dress.”

Cullen took a deep breath, immersing himself in the light, sweet smell of Andraste’s Grace. “And the perfume?”

“It’s Leliana’s.” Adair said, shifting closer into Cullen’s arms. “I thought it would be a nice, symbolic touch.”

Cullen kissed the crown of her head as the carriage pulled into the courtyard at the villa. He helped her out of the carriage and escorted her inside and up the stairs. At her door, he briefly considered asking if he could stay. Ultimately, he decided against it and simply kissed her goodnight.

It would have been perfect if Sera hadn’t whooped behind them as he did it.


End file.
